CONFERENCE ON ILLICIT SMALL ARMS TRADE IN SOUTH-EASTERN EUROPE CONCLUDES

Conference on Illicit Small Arms Trade in South-Eastern Europe concludes

NEW YORK, 17 March (Department for Disarmament Affairs) -- A Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects in
South-Eastern Europe completed a two-day session of intense discussion in
Brdo pri Kranju, Slovenia, 11 to 12 March, with 100 participants representing
40 governments and institutions that work on the issue in the subregion.  The Conference was organized by the United Nations in partnership with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and with the cooperation of the Government of Slovenia.

South-Eastern Europe has been heavily affected by excessive flows and accumulations of small arms as a result of past conflicts.  For that reason, the subregion is actively committed to implementing the Programme of Action adopted by the 2001 United Nations Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms, as well as the OSCE Document on Small Arms and Light Weapons of 24 November 2000.  Member States of the subregion are taking national measures, adopting relevant laws and regulations, and contributing to regional and subregional discussions at the political and technical or expert level.

The United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs,
Jayantha Dhanapala, in his opening remarks, emphasized the importance of the United Nations Programme of Action, stressing that the illict trade in small arms and light weapons “helped to perpetuate intrastate wars, increased the risk of terrorism, set back economic development, and contributed to the deaths of thousands upon thousands of civilians”.  In welcoming the participants, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia, Dimitrij Rupel, urged participants to address the broader political context of small arms control.  For his part, the Secretary-General of the OSCE, Jan Kubiš, acknowledged that much progress had already been made and “that governments of the region have recognized the need to take concerted cooperative action.”

Participants, including civil society, shared experiences and lessons learned on the complex issue of the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons.  An important theme of the Conference was that regional and subregional instruments dealing with the illicit trade in small arms complement each other, and their implementation supports the overall efforts of the United Nations on the subject. 

For further information, contact Agnès Marcaillou, Chief, Regional Disarmament Branch, Department of Disarmament Affairs, tel:
(212) 963-3768 or 0076.

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